Bronchoconstrictive diseases are a major health concern worldwide. This includes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), and despite existing treatments such as β-adrenergic agonists, inhaled corticosteroids, and inhaled anti-cholinergics, bronchoconstrictive diseases remain highly prevalent. Asthma by itself affects 300 million people worldwide. Since this asthma predisposes patients to severe acute airway constriction, novel mechanisms capable of promoting airway smooth muscle relaxation would be clinically valuable.
Thus there continues to be demand and need for effective therapeutics and treatments against bronchoconstrictive diseases. New pharmacologic approaches to treat these diseases are limited. Therapeutic limitations are especially apparent with regard to medications that promote acute airway smooth muscle relaxation, as α-adrenoceptor agonists and anti-cholinergics remain the only drug classes currently utilized to treat acute airway constriction.